World of Creve Coeur Park #1 (STAMPS REPORTED STOL LbNA #39932 (ARCHIVED)
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Nearby Boxes
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Add Location| Owner: | RandomChimp  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | May 19, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Maryland Heights |
| County: | St. Louis |
| State: | Missouri |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Found by: | Team Ten |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Apr 5, 2009 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFa |
| Last edited: | May 19, 2008 |
Note: I'm pulling whatever remains of this series to do repairs, replacement, etc. I'll try to have things back in place by autumn.
(The stamps for both boxes have been reported stolen.)
This series of boxes is planted in the part of the world where I spent my single and low-two-digit years of life. I may live a hundred miles away now, but I still consider Creve Coeur Park and surrounding woods part of my home.
I’ve hidden the world around this park. More specifically, I’ve hidden the seven continents… oh, and one “lost” continent. You can probably find all seven boxes on a good day’s outing. Most of the sites are suitable for sure-footed kids, but there are some steep spots. One in particular is noted as including an especially steep bit.
The main boxes are in three regions of the park so I’ve divvied the clues into three parts. The clues should be descriptive enough that you can plan out your expedition to find them all with minimal backtracking.
Along the way, you’ll encounter trees and birds and even some local history. You may also encounter snakes and poison ivy (although much less than I remembered) and mosquitoes. We found a 5-foot snake skin on the bonus box plant. I’m not sure it was the whole snake either…
Oh, regarding that “lost” bonus box… It’s got a different challenge to it. You probably won’t get it on your same outing unless you happen to have special resources available and a lot of luck on your side. You’ll also need the “Bonus Codes” from each of the main stamps. Because the bonus stamp is significantly more challenging, I’ve given it a listing to itself.
Some resources you may find handy…
Map of Creve Coeur Park trails: Here
Google Map centered on the “Trolley Trail”: Here
Park information: Here
Also, I found this document handy insofar as reaching concessions between my memory and historical fact when describing some of the sites. It won’t really help you with your quest, but it’s an interesting historical overview: Here
Oh, yeah… one of my steps is about 3 feet; maybe an inch or two shy.
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Set #1 of 3+
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-----Europe-----
Wanting to hike across Europe? Well I can’t help you there, but Creve Coeur Park does have one place you can walk that may seem like it takes nearly as long… at least it did when I was a kid. My sister and I would walk the stairs with my dad, counting them along the way. We probably came up with several different counts over the years, mathematicians that we are. They’ve been renovated since then, but are still good for a workout, physical and mathematical. You can find the base of the stairs in the parking lot at the base of the hill/bluff-line just across Marine Lane from Creve Coeur Lake.
Starting from the base of the stairs, rise 112 steps. You should encounter a large tree. Ascend another 57 steps to a bench where the stairway makes a 90-degree left turn. There is a trail which goes off from behind the bench up the hill. Go up that trail to where the path splits at a T. Go right. The trail runs into the root end of a large fallen tree laying down the hill. This dead tree points down the hill to a large tree wrapped in very thick vines. (A faint trail is beginning to develop around the fallen tree.) From the viney tree, face approximately 130 degrees. You should see the remains of the largest tree in the area. (During the leafy seasons, you might not notice that the tree in question is dead... its remains stand tall, reaching into the canopy.) On the downhill side of the trunk it reveals a void, large enough to stand in if you’re willing to be chummy with spiders. In Europe you may find cavernous cathedrals with vaulted ceilings. You only have a cavernous tree-trunk here, but it does contain your European destination.
----- Antarctica-----
NOTICE: The last person looking for this box reported it missing. Prior to that, the last actual finder reported it had been dragged 15 feet from it's hiding spot and had teeth marks on it.
From the Europe box, return to the stairs and continue your ascent up the remaining 51 steps.
When you arrive at the top of the stairs, you will find yourself looking at a shiny, contemporary playground. It’s behind what is now called “Corporate Site 1”, but which was once the power transfer station at the end-of-the-line for the trolley line from Delmar Gardens. What you’ll find is a modern playground now, but when my sister and I played there as kids, one of the outstanding features was a giant log laid across the two halves of the area as a bridge. That, and an artistic concrete cube. And a really, really tall steel slide. Those are gone now, replaced by safe plastic equipment on squishy rubber matting. Of course, before my days at the park, there was a much bigger history to the site. A 255 foot observation tower was once installed up on this following the 1904 World’s Fair (Louisiana Exposition). When I was a kid, you could still find the tower footings, though I couldn’t find them at the time of planting.
There are, however, two non-deciduous towers standing next to each other like a gateway just to the west of the playground. Start your expedition to Antarctica here. Pass between the towers and head into the “cove” of the woods to find a group of fat dead trees lying together. Looking out to the west from here through the tree line you can see the landscape drop away. Pass over or around two large logs to head down the hill at about 285 degrees. Note a very long dead tree pointing down the hill. It points to a modest sized tree with a notable hole at its base. For you, that tree is the South Pole.
(The stamps for both boxes have been reported stolen.)
This series of boxes is planted in the part of the world where I spent my single and low-two-digit years of life. I may live a hundred miles away now, but I still consider Creve Coeur Park and surrounding woods part of my home.
I’ve hidden the world around this park. More specifically, I’ve hidden the seven continents… oh, and one “lost” continent. You can probably find all seven boxes on a good day’s outing. Most of the sites are suitable for sure-footed kids, but there are some steep spots. One in particular is noted as including an especially steep bit.
The main boxes are in three regions of the park so I’ve divvied the clues into three parts. The clues should be descriptive enough that you can plan out your expedition to find them all with minimal backtracking.
Along the way, you’ll encounter trees and birds and even some local history. You may also encounter snakes and poison ivy (although much less than I remembered) and mosquitoes. We found a 5-foot snake skin on the bonus box plant. I’m not sure it was the whole snake either…
Oh, regarding that “lost” bonus box… It’s got a different challenge to it. You probably won’t get it on your same outing unless you happen to have special resources available and a lot of luck on your side. You’ll also need the “Bonus Codes” from each of the main stamps. Because the bonus stamp is significantly more challenging, I’ve given it a listing to itself.
Some resources you may find handy…
Map of Creve Coeur Park trails: Here
Google Map centered on the “Trolley Trail”: Here
Park information: Here
Also, I found this document handy insofar as reaching concessions between my memory and historical fact when describing some of the sites. It won’t really help you with your quest, but it’s an interesting historical overview: Here
Oh, yeah… one of my steps is about 3 feet; maybe an inch or two shy.
--------------------------------------
Set #1 of 3+
--------------------------------------
-----Europe-----
Wanting to hike across Europe? Well I can’t help you there, but Creve Coeur Park does have one place you can walk that may seem like it takes nearly as long… at least it did when I was a kid. My sister and I would walk the stairs with my dad, counting them along the way. We probably came up with several different counts over the years, mathematicians that we are. They’ve been renovated since then, but are still good for a workout, physical and mathematical. You can find the base of the stairs in the parking lot at the base of the hill/bluff-line just across Marine Lane from Creve Coeur Lake.
Starting from the base of the stairs, rise 112 steps. You should encounter a large tree. Ascend another 57 steps to a bench where the stairway makes a 90-degree left turn. There is a trail which goes off from behind the bench up the hill. Go up that trail to where the path splits at a T. Go right. The trail runs into the root end of a large fallen tree laying down the hill. This dead tree points down the hill to a large tree wrapped in very thick vines. (A faint trail is beginning to develop around the fallen tree.) From the viney tree, face approximately 130 degrees. You should see the remains of the largest tree in the area. (During the leafy seasons, you might not notice that the tree in question is dead... its remains stand tall, reaching into the canopy.) On the downhill side of the trunk it reveals a void, large enough to stand in if you’re willing to be chummy with spiders. In Europe you may find cavernous cathedrals with vaulted ceilings. You only have a cavernous tree-trunk here, but it does contain your European destination.
----- Antarctica-----
NOTICE: The last person looking for this box reported it missing. Prior to that, the last actual finder reported it had been dragged 15 feet from it's hiding spot and had teeth marks on it.
From the Europe box, return to the stairs and continue your ascent up the remaining 51 steps.
When you arrive at the top of the stairs, you will find yourself looking at a shiny, contemporary playground. It’s behind what is now called “Corporate Site 1”, but which was once the power transfer station at the end-of-the-line for the trolley line from Delmar Gardens. What you’ll find is a modern playground now, but when my sister and I played there as kids, one of the outstanding features was a giant log laid across the two halves of the area as a bridge. That, and an artistic concrete cube. And a really, really tall steel slide. Those are gone now, replaced by safe plastic equipment on squishy rubber matting. Of course, before my days at the park, there was a much bigger history to the site. A 255 foot observation tower was once installed up on this following the 1904 World’s Fair (Louisiana Exposition). When I was a kid, you could still find the tower footings, though I couldn’t find them at the time of planting.
There are, however, two non-deciduous towers standing next to each other like a gateway just to the west of the playground. Start your expedition to Antarctica here. Pass between the towers and head into the “cove” of the woods to find a group of fat dead trees lying together. Looking out to the west from here through the tree line you can see the landscape drop away. Pass over or around two large logs to head down the hill at about 285 degrees. Note a very long dead tree pointing down the hill. It points to a modest sized tree with a notable hole at its base. For you, that tree is the South Pole.